Customer Service with a Smile and ‘A Little – Love’ Marlow Services, LLC
Phyliss Boatwright 
By Phyliss Boatwright
On a recent warm fall day, I walked into Marlow Services, LLC in Danville to talk to owners Eddie and Brandy Marlow and quickly saw firsthand just how special their customer service is.
As I was sitting behind the retail counter, waiting for the owners to get a moment to talk with me, a senior woman came in and joked a bit with Brandy before telling her how much she appreciated Eddie’s help with her device. When she was told that I was with River City Area Magazine, she looked at me and said, emphatically, “They are the best in Danville.” When I asked, Patsy Yarbrough immediately said of course I could quote her. She then held out her arms to Eddie Marlow and said to me, “I have to get a little love and a kiss when I come in.” She left with a smile, and left smiles behind her.
That is the kind of hometown service that has allowed the Marlows to become successful and to win small business awards year after year, including The Pinnacle Small Business Award from the Danville-Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce in 2022. Marlow Services has also won the Danville Register and Bee’s Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Electronics Store in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024; for Best Customer Service in 2022, and for Best Place to Work in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
The reason Marlow Services has won these awards can be attributed to the owners’ business philosophy. The couple strives to “provide excellent customer service to meet each customer’s needs with no hidden agenda,” according to Brandy and Eddie. “We are a one-stop shop for phones and tablets – we can repair, sell a new device, and/or provide tech support. We offer all options to our customers,” they said, adding that they only want to do “what is in [their] customers’ best interest.” The Marlows added that even if it means missing out on business, they often advise customers to make a warranty or insurance claim, or to buy a new device if that is what they believe would be the best solution. “Our employees are not paid commission, and have no sales or repair quotas,” the Marlows explained.
The shop may seem small – with just four employees, including the Marlows – but the offerings are large. In addition to the retail shop, which offers top-rated wireless accessories as well as new and certified pre-owned phones, tablets, and watches, customers can expect a “no fix, no pay” policy on mobile phone and tablet repairs. Replacement screens for phones and tablets come with a lifetime warranty against manufacturer defects – if the phone condition qualifies by not having been liquid damaged, or having a bent frame, broken back glass, or other major defects.
Marlow Services prides itself on the best customer service and helping the Danville community. Brandy and Eddie told me about assisting law enforcement, late one night, by retrieving data from a murder victim’s phone in order to aid the investigation.
They also recalled a young man who came to them for help after breaking his phone. He was afraid to tell his parents and had caught a ride to Target. He brought along a jar containing all the money from his piggy bank. Eddie met him at Starbucks in Target and repaired the phone. “We still have that jar of money,” the Marlows told me.
The couple said, aside from being able to help law enforcement solve a murder and keep a youngster out of trouble, they were honored to repair and digitize a wedding video from an old VHS tape for someone who had recently lost a spouse. The tape had broken many years before, and after the death of her husband, the woman decided she would like to restore the memories of her wedding day. The Marlows were happy to help out.
The oldest tape restoration/digitization they have done is from an 8 mm video recorded in 1954. Restoring and converting videos means a lot to the Marlows. Eddie said people in Danville have videos of children swimming at the old YMCA, and he is always happy to take out the yellow caused by the lighting and do sound and color correction. One of their employees, Sierra Carter, is especially talented in the area of video restoration, editing, and conversion.
Marlow Services is known for their high-quality phone and tablet repairs and accessories, but they are also a full-service shop for all of your phone and tablet needs. Other services include prepaid wireless plans; data transfer and recovery; virus removal; account login recovery; new device setup; laser engraving; custom cut screen protection and more. Available in the store are phone and tablet cases, screen protectors, smartwatch bands, wireless earbuds, speakers, and much more.
When asked how they started the business and how they became interested in technology sales and repair, the Marlows said they began working out of their home as a part-time side gig in 2015. The business grew so that they moved it to their garage the following year, still as a side business. In 2019, they opened the store front and made the business a full-time venture. That allowed them to expand from phone and tablet repair to device and accessory sales as well as offering prepaid wireless service.
Both Eddie and Brandy have “always loved gadgets,” they said. “We’d had a few broken devices over the years and no good options for repairs locally.” So, when they saw an ad for training, they decided to check it out. The couple did not want to risk making mistakes on customers’ devices until they were confident in their abilities, so they repaired their family’s devices first. Eddie loves hands-on tech work and took to it immediately. Brandy likes the challenges that come with all the different aspects of running a business.
“We loved the idea of building a business together,” they told me. “After working in corporate America, we wanted to meet this community need and bring back good, old fashioned customer service.”
Since they opened the business, Eddie Marlow said, “I feel so much more a part of the community.” He added that he enjoys the camaraderie.
Along with running the business and community involvement, the Marlows also offer advice to the community at large via the local radio stations. “Tech Tip Tuesday” can be heard on WWDN 104.5 The Dan and WMPW 105.9 Country Legends.
As evidenced by their commitment to the community and the love shown by their customers, it is apparent that the Marlows care about serving their neighbors while providing needed products and services.
158A Kentuck Road
Danville, Va. 24540
(434) 770-4694
MarlowServices.com
